The mysterious faces of Belmes. Faces of Belmes: the most mysterious phenomenon of the 20th century. New faces of Belmes

The first report that a person's face appeared on the floor of the kitchen of his own house came from Maria Gomez Camara on August 23, 1971. Her husband, Juan Pereira, and his son destroyed the image that day by smashing the cement floor with a pick and then laying a new one in its place. But the story didn't end there. After some time, the face reappeared on the floor, but this time the cement was cut off and handed over for research.

Soon, many people in the area and throughout the country learned about the house in which the mysterious images appear. On Easter 1972, hundreds of people came here to see for themselves the mysterious images on the floor. Over the next 30 years, the phenomenon did not disappear - the Pereiras stated that faces continued to periodically appear: sometimes it was a woman, sometimes a man. Each time the images were of different shapes, sizes and with different facial expressions.

Various images have appeared and disappeared at irregular intervals since 1971, and their appearance was widely reported in the local media. Many residents of the city of Belmez are sure that the images on the floor of the Pereira house are not the result of human labor.

Pereira's kitchen

After the phenomenon received wide publicity, researchers from different parts of the world began to study this strange phenomenon. It soon became clear that a cemetery used to be located on the site of the house. After that, permission was taken from the owners and the researchers began to open the floor. Their surprise knew no bounds, because they soon discovered the remains of people under it. The remains were reburied, and the owners began laying a new floor. But less than two weeks later, all the repairs were completed, when the images appeared again on the floor. One of them was a completely different man, and a woman's face appeared on the floor, surrounded by tiny 9-15 faces. After that, the floor was removed several more times, but the faces returned again and again. The owners also tried to clean the floor with strong detergents, but apart from the fact that the expressions on the floor changed and the eyes widened, nothing happened.

Although the events continued until 1972, the researchers were unable to scientifically substantiate this phenomenon.

Faces in Belmez: a study

Among the main scientists who took part in the study of the images on the floor in Belmez were Hans Bender and Herman de Argumosa. They have been working in parallel in Freiburg and Belmese since the beginning of 1970, when the phenomenon first appeared on the floor. After 2 years of work, none of them has submitted its official report. Argumosa considered this case some kind of unprecedented "Gothic" mystery, but he never officially announced anything. Bender nevertheless referred to this incident several times in his lectures.

Hans Bender and Herman de Argumosa

As part of the research, samples of the cement board were taken to the ICV (Institute of Ceramics and Glass of Spain) for analysis, which did not confirm the presence of paint or dyes in the sample. In another experiment, a kitchen floor was photographed in sections, then covered over with a cloth that was sealed around the edges. The house and windows were also sealed to prevent unauthorized access. All this happened in front of the cameras of German TV journalists and in the presence of the city notary. For the next 3 months, the kitchen of the house remained sealed. After the cloth and seals were removed, it became apparent that the faces changed their expressions and moved from one place on the floor to another.

The faces in Belmes or the faces of Belmes are a possible paranormal phenomenon, made world famous by the woman who discovered them. But did Maria-Gomez Comara really witness a terrible miracle, or is she an ordinary swindler who wanted fame and fortune and decided to do one of the loudest hoaxes for this?

Duck for tourists or parapsychological phenomenon?

In a house at Street Real 5, Belmez de la Moraleda, Jaen, Spain, strange events occurred in 1971 - images of faces began to appear on the floor and walls. This was the main reason for the influx of tourists to Belmes. Some parapsychologists have considered this event one of the most important paranormal events of the twentieth century. And some, on the contrary, considered it a skillful falsification.

Faces on the floor, faces on the walls

Maria-Gomez Komara stated that one day, on the floor of her kitchen, the face of a woman appeared. This phenomenon caused fear and disgust in the hostess, so she tried to get rid of it. The husband and son removed the old concrete and filled the floor with new, cement mortar. But after a while, the face reappeared.

In the village, there were rumors that the house was located on the land of the old cemetery. This story received support from the local media - newspapers and television reacted with interest to this phenomenon. Meanwhile, images continued to appear in the house - the faces of men, children and women, on the walls and floor. After some time, whole crowds of curious people and tourists began to gather in the house to see this “miracle” with their own eyes.

Opinion of skeptics

But not all people were equally enthusiastic about this news, some spoke of financial gain, and not of a mystical incident. The flow of tourists brought colossal money to the house with faces and to the local government.

Of course, skeptics subjected this “phenomenon” to all kinds of checks. Scientists tried to identify changes in the structure of the surface on which faces appeared, various chemical studies were carried out. And the result was this: having oxidizing reagents (acid), or some types of cleaning products, you can easily create the same images of faces, since almost all types of cement are alkaline in nature.

There were quite a lot of hypotheses with options for possible falsification. People were divided into two camps: skeptical people who are sure of falsification and people who are confident in the mystical origin of faces.

After the death of Maria Gomez

Maria Gomez died in 2004 at the age of 85. After her death, a certain Pedro Amoros tried to “open” a new wave of interest in the “faces of Belmes”, talking about new faces and attracting tourists. But, soon the Spanish media, namely the newspaper El Mundo, published an article “New Belmez Faces Faked by 'Ghostbusters ' and Municipal Government" ("New Faces of Belmes: Lies from Ghostbusters and Municipal Government").

Then there were rumors about the son of Mary, Diego Pereira, as the author of all the mysterious paintings in the house. This was facilitated by the release of the book: "Los Caras de Belmez" in which the author refutes all the mysticism associated with the faces of Belmez.

Be that as it may, Maria-Gomez will remain in history and her name is forever associated with the faces of Belmes.

We all heard horror stories in childhood about how a bloody stain appeared on the ceiling or on the wall of a certain room, and how it was not painted over, it reappeared. Instead of a bloody stain, a terrible face, a black figure, etc. could appear. The essence of this did not change: the image was painted over with almost a ton of paint, but it still showed through.

However, children's horror stories are children's horror stories, a separate area of \u200b\u200burban legends, but such a case actually took place.

For the first time they started talking about him in 1971, when in the house of one of the simple Spanish families in the Spanish village Belmes de la Moraleda(address: Street Real 5, Belmez de la Moraleda, Jaen, Spain) mysterious events began to occur: the outlines of people's faces began to appear on the tiles on the floor and walls of the house.

It all started with the fact that in August of the aforementioned year, the hostess of the house Maria Gomez Pereira one day I noticed on the floor of my own kitchen, on a cement slab under the hearth, the outlines of a woman's face.

Naturally, this phenomenon caused her fear and disgust. She tried to scrape off the image. Nothing happened. Then Maria asked her husband to cover this part of the floor with cement, which the husband did safely, putting new cement an inch thick on the bad place.

However, this did not help, the face appeared again. Then the unfortunate woman again turned to her husband - this time with a request to replace part of the floor. Thoroughly frightened, the husband and son removed the old concrete and filled the floor with new cement mortar, but after a while the face reappeared.

Moreover, soon other human faces with quite distinct outlines began to appear on the walls and on the floor in other places.

The family did not know what to do anymore, and turned to the mayor of Belmes de la Moraleda. The mayor after their story told them not to touch their faces next time, but to leave them for study.

Very soon, information about mysterious faces spread far beyond Belmes de la Moraleda and attracted the attention of many skeptics and mystics: some considered it a skillful trick, others saw it as confirmation of the existence of other entities, or spirits.

The story received more and more publicity, along with publicity, a huge number of versions arose explaining the appearance of faces. A wave of rumors spread through the village that the house was located on the site where the old cemetery once stood.

The excavations carried out under houses Nos. 3 and 5 along Real Street in Belmes and studies revealed that before the appearance of houses in this place in the 14th century. in fact, there was a church with a cemetery adjacent to it. The church and part of the cemetery were moved in 1838 before the construction of houses to another place. The rest of the cemetery was moved only shortly before the events, just before the appearance of the first persons.

This story received the support of local media - newspapers, and television reacted with interest to this phenomenon. In the meantime, images continued to appear on the walls and floor in the house - the faces of men, children and women ...

After a short time, curious people and tourists began to come to the village in droves - to see the miracles with their own eyes.

Moreover, the faces that showed through could be photographed - unlike the numerous other miracles, which were known only from the stories of eyewitnesses. The phenomenon was called "Faces of Belmes".

Naturally, "Faces of Belmes" attracted the close attention of researchers of the unknown, parapsychologists and other specialists from "related fields". Some parapsychologists have considered this event one of the most important paranormal events of the twentieth century.

Thus, the German parapsychologist Hans Bender believes that the village of Belmes is the birthplace of "the most remarkable paranormal phenomenon in Europe." And some considered it a skillful falsification. Like, Maria-Gomez herself draws these faces.

What did the skeptics do! In the early 90s, they tried to erase the images with cleaning products, examined the material for the presence of dyes, but they could not find any catch: the faces were not drawn!

All who visited this place were forced to agree that the phenomenon cannot be explained logically and its authenticity is trustworthy.

In 1991 and 1994 priest José María Pilon ordered two chemical analyzes of the emerging images. And again traces of dyes were not found. They even conducted an experiment: the kitchen in the ill-fated house was sealed in the presence of a notary, which excluded anyone from entering the premises.

Three months later, the seal was removed in front of the cameras of German television men invited by the researcher Hans Bender. One new face was recorded, and two other, already existing, images were rotated 180 degrees. The experiment was recorded in the notary of the city of Huelva under the numbers 462 and 667 for 1994.

In addition, paranormal researchers left tape recorders in the house at night, and the study of the recordings made allows us to ascertain the presence of sounds similar to fragments of phrases spoken in a whisper.

Provided that there was no one in the house for the purity of the experiments, this whisper can be considered as a manifestation of the other world. So, at least, according to the researchers.

However, adherents of the materialistic approach to explaining all the secrets of the universe continued their attacks against the mistress of the house. They argued that since the flow of tourists and researchers to the village does not dry out and, therefore, brings residents a good increase in their basic income, then "Faces of Belmes" is nothing more than a PR move to attract tourists.

I had to involve expert chemists. Scientists through complex chemical analyzes have revealed how, from a scientific point of view, these faces could be drawn by human hands. It turned out that at least three chemical compounds are capable of creating an effect similar to Belmez's faces.

But for this it was necessary: a) to have these complex connections in this village lost in the outskirts of Europe, and b) Maria Gomez, a simple peasant woman, needed to be elementary aware of their existence and their capabilities.

And you also had to be able to draw! Because the faces were, although not always distinct, but almost always anatomically correct, sometimes not even in front, but in three-quarters.

Yes, and with a variety of emotions clearly expressed in the image. Maria Gomez couldn't draw. Her son and husband are too. By the way, at the time of the first appearance of the faces of Maria Gomez, she was 52 years old. Venerable, you must admit, the age for the beginning of any kind of hoax ...

One of the researchers hypothesized that these could be frescoes made with some colorless substance, which, mixed with the lime of the slabs, appeared after some time, as happens with colorless ink.

In support of the paranormal origin of faces, the fact that faces appeared for a short time, then disappeared, also speaks. If they were created with the help of oxidizing reagents (acids), with which cement would enter into an active process (since almost all types of cement have an alkaline character), then the images would remain, if not forever, then for a very long time.

As a result, the public was divided into two camps. Some believed that the mystic was to blame, others claimed that they were dealing with a skillful hoax. Do crowds of tourists bring income to the village? Bring. So, all this is started with a commercial purpose.

This argument is rather frail ... The phenomenon could attract attention, but it might not. And if we take into account that the house of Maria Gomez became literally a passage courtyard, that for the sake of experiments it was necessary to move somewhere for the sake of many months of experiments, then it is quite difficult to imagine a family that will voluntarily sacrifice their own peace for the sake of incomprehensible and ambiguous fame.

And there was no peace for the family day or night! Either tourists, or onlookers, or research ... During one of them, a human body was dug out from under the house. It was announced that now everything will stop. However, the faces continued to appear.

They have been around for over thirty years. In 2004, Maria-Gomez died at the age of 85. The famous parapsychologist Pedro Amoros tried to find evidence of the appearance of new faces in the house of Mary.

According to some reports, they continue to appear, according to others, after the death of Marie-Gomez, miraculous phenomena ceased. However, a new wave of phenomena called "Faces of Belmes" swept the world. The press mocked the parapsychologist, claiming that Belmez's faces were created by ghost hunters, as well as by the local government of the village.

So, for example, the Spanish media, namely the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, published an article New Belmez Faces Faked by "Ghostbusters" and Municipal Government (New Faces of Belmes. Lies from Ghostbusters and the Municipal Government). What the article is about is clear from the title.

Then there were rumors about Maria's son, Diego Pereira, as the author of all the mysterious "pictures" in the house. This was facilitated by the publication in 2007 of the book Los Caras de Belmez ("Faces of Belmez"), in which the authors - journalist Javier Cavaniles and researcher Francisco Manes - refute all the mysticism associated with Belmez's faces. Cavaniles and Manes claim that the authorship of the drawings belongs to the son of Maria Gomez.

They made this conclusion on the basis of the very history of the appearance of drawings and their study. How such a conclusion can be drawn from the history of the appearance and analysis of the drawings remains, so to speak, behind the scenes. Especially if we take into account all the experiments carried out, including the kitchen sealed for three months, in which, nevertheless, new images appeared, and the old ones were transformed.

The main argument of the authors of the book is that after the death of Maria-Gomez no more images appeared. Means what? So, all this is the work of her son. Well, who else? No one else! So what if he can't draw? So what, that images appeared in a sealed kitchen? So what if the tape recorder recorded some voices in an absolutely empty room?

However, the fact remains: after the death of Maria-Gomez, faces no longer arose. If we ignore the desire of official science in everything and everywhere to look for materialistic explanations and see only a hoax in every miracle, then it is worth considering another option: Maria Gomez could have been an unconscious medium. She, due to the specific features of her personality (or her body), could be a catalyst for certain processes that modern science has no explanation for.

From the same area, the appearance of geometric figures in the fields, water or fire in the room, if there is a person there, causing (as a rule, unconsciously) these processes. From the same area is the phenomenon of poltergeist, when objects suddenly begin to move or fly, furniture doors slam, drawings appear on the walls, etc.

Scientists studying poltergeists have come to the conclusion that these phenomena are usually caused by one of the family members. We repeat - unconsciously.

It is quite possible that Maria Gomez was such a person, thanks to whom another world (other world, parallel - call it what you want) somehow manifested itself in our world, left us some messages. And to declare everything a fraud and falsification is as easy as shelling pears!

However, children's horror stories are children's horror stories, a separate area of \u200b\u200burban legends, but such an incident actually took place.

They first started talking about him in 1971, when mysterious events began to occur in the house of one of the simple Spanish families in the Spanish village of Belmes de la Moraleda (address: Street Real 5, Belmez de la Moraleda, Jaen, Spain): on a tile located on floor and walls of the house, the outlines of people's faces began to appear.

It all started with the fact that in August of the mentioned year, the hostess of the house, Maria Gomez Pereira, once noticed on the floor of her own kitchen, on a cement slab under the hearth, the outlines of a woman's face.

Moreover, soon other human faces with quite distinct outlines began to appear on the walls and on the floor in other places.

The family did not know what to do anymore, and turned to the mayor of Belmes de la Moraleda. The mayor after their story told them not to touch their faces next time, but to leave them for study.

This story was supported by local media - newspapers, and television reacted with interest to this phenomenon. Meanwhile, in the house, images continued to appear on the walls and floor - the faces of men, children and women ...

After a short time, the curious and tourists began to come to the village in droves to see the miracles with their own eyes.

Naturally, the “Faces of Belmes” attracted the close attention of researchers of the unknown, parapsychologists and other specialists from “related fields”. Some parapsychologists have considered this event one of the most important paranormal events of the twentieth century.

All who visited this place were forced to agree that the phenomenon cannot be explained logically and its authenticity is trustworthy.

Provided that there was no one in the house for the purity of the experiments, this whisper can be considered as a manifestation of the other world. So, at least, according to the researchers.

However, adherents of the materialistic approach to explaining all the secrets of the universe continued their attacks against the mistress of the house. They argued that since the flow of tourists and researchers to the village does not dry out and, therefore, brings residents a good increase in basic income, then the “Faces of Belmes” is nothing more than a PR move to attract tourists.

And you also had to be able to draw! Because the faces were, although not always distinct, but almost always anatomically correct, sometimes not even in front, but in three-quarters.

Yes, and with a variety of emotions clearly expressed in the image. Maria Gomez couldn't draw. Her son and husband are, too. By the way, at the time of the first appearance of the faces of Maria Gomez, she was 52 years old. Venerable, you must admit, the age for the beginning of any kind of hoax ...

One of the researchers hypothesized that these could be frescoes made with some colorless substance, which, mixed with the lime of the slabs, appeared after some time, as happens with colorless ink.

So, for example, the Spanish media, namely the Spanish newspaper El Mundo, published an article New Belmez Faces Faked by ‘Ghostbusters’ and Municipal Government (New Faces of Belmes. Lies from Ghostbusters and the Municipal Government). What the article is about is clear from the title.

After that, rumors spread about the son of Mary, Diego Pereira, as the author of all the mysterious "pictures" in the house. This was facilitated by the publication in 2007 of the book Los Caras de Belmez (“Faces of Belmez”), in which the authors, journalist Javier Cavaniles and researcher Francisco Manes, refute all the mysticism associated with Belmez's faces. Cavaniles and Manes claim that the authorship of the drawings belongs to the son of Maria Gomez.

Scientists studying poltergeists have come to the conclusion that these phenomena are usually caused by one of the family members. We repeat - unconsciously.

It is quite possible that Maria Gomez was such a person, thanks to which another world (otherworldly, parallel - call it what you want) somehow manifested itself in our world, left us some messages. And to declare everything fraud and falsification is as easy as shelling pears!

At first, the stain was just a stain. Unpleasant, but nothing terrible. It is unlikely that Maria paid attention to him - the usual mold. But soon it began to change and, upon completion of the transformation, acquired a clear outline of a human face.

This scared Mary. She took hold of the rag and tried again and again to wipe the stain off the kitchen floor. She was joined by her husband Juan and son Miguel. Realizing the futility of their attempts, Huang resorted to the last method. With the help of a pick, he simply took out the part of the floor where the stain was, and cemented this place.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Life has returned to normal. But not for long. Because a few weeks later the face reappeared. At the same place.

Although Maria only dreamed of getting rid of the intrusive face on the floor of her own kitchen, the strange phenomenon aroused curiosity among other residents of the city. Rumors spread quickly in the small town, and the story soon reached the mayor himself. The head of Belmes insisted that the phenomenon must be studied, and in no case should the face be destroyed. The family agreed with the city council and allowed them to do whatever they saw fit.

After much discussion, it was decided to raise the kitchen floor and see what lies underneath.

At a depth of almost three meters, diggers found skeletons. The creepiest thing is that some of them were missing skulls.

Before being buried in a Catholic cemetery, the skeletons were handed over to scientists, who concluded that the bones were at least 700 years old.

Not the end, but the beginning

If Maria Gomez hoped that this was all over, then not for long. Although the floor was re-cemented, and the dead were taken away and buried, faces continued to appear. One face replaced another, like reflections in mirrors. Sometimes this change happened literally in a matter of hours. Some of the faces looked like women and children.

Rumors about the faces of Belmes spread around the world, and the Pereira family faced a new scourge - curiosity. Priests, students, researchers of the paranormal, scientists, policemen, journalists, skeptics - everyone wanted to look at the mysterious faces. In the end, succumbing to persuasion, Maria Gomez agreed to a full-fledged experiment.

Experiment

Skeptics were convinced that there was a simple explanation for the appearance of faces.

Samples of the slab were delivered to the Institute of Ceramics and Glass of Spain for analysis of the presence of dyes in the stone.

As part of the experiment, the kitchen floor was photographed in parts, then covered with a cloth, and the house was sealed to prevent unauthorized access. All this was filmed by German TV journalists in the presence of a local notary. The kitchen remained sealed for 3 months. When the house was opened, everyone saw that the faces changed expressions and moved from one place to another.

Versions of skeptics

Professor J. Alonso of the Spanish Higher Council for Scientific Research conducted a chemical analysis of the material on which the images appeared. In the report, he indicated that traces of a melanocratic compound were found in the material. This could mean that the images were applied by hand.

The first suspect was, of course, Maria Gomez. She died on February 3, 2004. Everyone was convinced that faces would stop appearing from that day on, but the phenomenon did not stop, and suspicion shifted to her son Miguel.

Are the faces of Belmes really mystical in nature - perhaps these are the prints of those whose skulls are still hidden? Or did the Pereira family simply decide to attract attention and earn some money in this way? Both versions have the right to exist.